What is “philosophy”? The word itself derives from Greek roots that means love of wisdom. A substantive and precise characterization of the field of philosophy, and its practice,
is difficult. In part, this is because philosophy is so all-encompassing. Nearly every
academic discipline is a historical outgrowth of philosophy. Because of its broad
nature, contemporary philosophy is divided into numerous subfields, each of which
would be easier to characterize than the whole of philosophy. Related questions concern
the value of philosophy. We'll try to summarize some of the practical and intrinsic value associated with a philosophical education.

Practical Value of Philosophy

1. Raise your grad school entrance exam score

Philosophy students are consistently among the top performers on standardized grad
school prep exams – e.g., GRE, LSAT, MCAT, GMAT. Those exams do not emphasize discipline-specific
knowledge; rather, they emphasize skills with logical reasoning and comprehension
of logic-rich texts. Why? The thinking is that if you are good with logical reasoning,
then we can train you! Philosophy students do fantastically well on these exams for
the simple reason that philosophy courses focus on logical reasoning. Adding a philosophy Minor or second Major will help improve
your prep exam scores, and that will likely get you into a better-ranked graduate
program. More generally, you'll increase your problem-solving skills.

If mastery with creative writing (among other forms) is your goal, then English courses
are terrific. If instead, the goal is mastery of reading and writing skills associated
with academic, journal-style texts – i.e., analytical writings rich in logical reasoning
– you can do no better than to take philosophy courses. Indeed, recent data for the
GRE exam (see links above) show that for the two portions of the exam associated with
verbal and writing skills, philosophy students earned the very highest scores of any
Major. Adding a philosophy Minor or second Major will improve your reading and writing
in your first Major, helping you to earn better grades.

3. Enhance your studies in another field

This is not simply to repeat that the themes that philosophy students develop superior
logical, reading, and writing skills. Rather, the present point is that philosophy
is among the most interdisciplinary of fields – arguably, the most interdisciplinary.
The history of every other academic discipline traces back to philosophy. Whether
you're majoring in psychology, biology, physics, or whatnot, your discipline was founded
by philosophers working on specialized topics unique to (what has become) your field.
Part of the legacy of these philosophical origins is that scholars across all fields
continue to earn PhD degrees – “PhD” abbreviates “Philosophy Doctorate”. The philosophical
foundations underlying other disciplines makes the study of philosophy particular
well-suited as Minor or a second Major. Many of our course titles are a tribute to
the interdisciplinarity of philosophy – such courses as “Philosophy of Biology”, “Philosophy
of Physics”, “Philosophy of Science”, “Philosophy of Social Science”, “Philosophy
of Mind”, “Philosophy of Language”, “Philosophy of Law”, “Philosophy of Literature”,
“Philosophy of Education”, “Philosophy of Art” . . . you get the idea. Bottom-line:
The study of Philosophy combines fantastically well with a Major in any other field. Adding a Philosophy Minor or second Major typically rewards students
with a deeper understanding of issues relevant to their first Major.

4. Boost your career and salary

Though STEM fields are much in demand these days, the situation remains strong for
Humanities Majors. Indeed, recent studies indicates that, over time, degrees in the
Humanities reward students with higher salaries, gradually closing the initial pay
gap occurring in comparison with Majors in professional fields. Further research indicates
that philosophy Majors are the best paid, among Humanities Majors. Indeed, a Wall
Street Journal analysis shows that philosophy Majors and mathematics Majors are tied,
for earning the highest midcareer salary increases – greater than a 100% increase.

Intrinsic Value of Philosophy

1. Expand your knowledge

The history of philosophy is the history of big ideas and influential thinkers – such
thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Xunzi, Aquinas, Descartes, Pascal, Locke, Hume, Kant,
Mill, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Beauvoir, Rawls, and more. Take on course on one or
more of these thinkers. You'll discover that rethinking the ideas of great intellectual
masters is its own reward.

2. Improve your skills at logical analysis and persuasion

The outstanding performance of philosophy students on grad school prep exams is the
natural outgrowth of strong logical and analytical abilities. Together with superb
abilities at dissecting the writings of others, and persuasively expressing one's
own views, makes the study of philosophy a natural fit for freethinkers and problem-solvers.

Generations of thinkers have praised the virtues of an active life of the mind. Perhaps
the most famous is attributed to Socrates – “The unexamined life is not worth living”.
While we are not asserting something quite that strong, it is widely agreed that a
contemplative life will increase the sense of meaning and satisfaction in your life.